Chapter 1

Every time you say "foosball," you're putting a foot
in your mouth-a German foot!

Foosball is the American corruption of fussball (pronounced
the same), the German word for soccer-literally foot plus
ball. While the sport has the more formal name of table
soccer, to the American players who love it, it's foosball, or
just foos.

Unfortunately, the origins of the game are not as easy to trace
as those of its name. Like many games, it is quite possible that
variations of foosball developed in different countries over roughly
the same time period. Since organized soccer first entered the
sports scene in the 1860s, the invention of soccer's table version
can be safely dated sometime afterward, probably in the late 1800s.
The earliest United States patent for a foosball table was registered
in 1901, but it is generally agreed that foosball, like soccer,
originated in western Europe.

A recent article in a Belgian magazine (Le Soir Illustre, No.
2471, November 1979, p. 26) stated that the inventor of the first
foosball table was a Frenchman named Lucien Rosengart, who lived
from 1880 to 1976. An employee of the Citroen automobile factory,
he amassed a huge fortune through his inventive genius. He is
accredited with the invention of the minicar, frontwheel drive,
and the seat belt, to name a few, besides babyfoot, the original
name for foosball.

One of the oldest manufacturers of foosball is a Swiss company
called Kicker, located in Geneva. Its table is also called Kicker
and has been so popular in Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium that
the word has become generic: kicker is to these European players
what foosball is to Americans.

In European countries as well as in the United States, foosball
did not become widespread until after World War II. One popular
belief is that foosball was invented to help rehabilitate war
veterans. While not invented for that purpose, foosball has been
used in rehabilitation with great success, especially in rebuilding
handeye coordination. Today foosball also plays a role in social
rehabilitation, being a part of the recreational programs offered
by many state and federal correctional institutions.

American servicemen are responsible for another common belief,
one that has haunted American players for a long time. After being
stationed in Germany, servicemen have often come home with tales
of German foosball players who are so incredibly good that they
could beat any American. During our first years of professional
competition in the early 1970s, the prevalence of this idea irked
many dedicated American players. We were getting so good-how could
they be better?

Competition in Europe, compared to the United States, has been
organized for a long time. Belgium leagues, for instance, were
organized as early as 1950. It wasn't until 1976, however, that
the European leagues from different countries finally united to
form the European Table Soccer Union (ETU) and competed against
each other in the European Cup, now an annual affair. Unification
is still a big problem for European players. There are many different
table brands, and each country naturally prefers its own. The
shape of the playing figures, the size of the handles, and the
composition of the balls varies from brand to brand, making it
difficult for players to switch from one to the other.

As good as the Europeans may be at their style of play on their
own tables, the Americans have one thing that they don't: a pro
tour with a million dollars in prize money. Foosball competition
in Europe has remained on a very small scale in terms of prize
money. With the introduction of the American table, players in
Europe are being brought together, playing more and more on the
American table and using the American rules. They have an incentive:
the American prize money!

The $250,000 World Championships in May, 1979, welcomed the largest
European delegation ever-thirtysix players from England, Ireland,
Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Disagreements between
Americans and Europeans were inevitable, and most disputes concerned
the rules. Once an official and a translator arrived at a table,
however, it was often discovered that communication was the only
problem. By the end of the tournament, transatlantic friendships
had been formed and the Europeans' skill at the table had won
the respect of many American players.

Foosball is played all over the world. It can be found in the
Middle East, North Africa, South America, Australia, and Tahiti,
as well as in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. Two
foreign countries who recently expressed the desire to participate
in American tournament competition are Argentina and Japan. Don't
be surprised if you see teams from these two nations at the World
Championships in the near future.

What lies ahead for foosball? This question can be answered in
one word: more-more players from more countries, competing
at more tournaments for more prize money. A recent study revealed
that every week 1.9 million people play a game of foosball-in
the United States alone. The cause of the phenomenal growth of
the sport in the United States during the last decade is no secret:
someone took foosball, the tavern game, and turned it into a big
money professional sport.